Dry toner electrostatic printing inks, including laser and xerographic inks, are important and growing contaminants in the area of waste paper recycling. Traditionally, paper has been printed with water or oil-based inks which were adequately removed by conventional deinking procedures. In these methods, secondary fiber is mechanically pulped and contacted with an aqueous medium containing a surfactant. Ink is separated from pulp fibers as a result of mechanical pulping and the action of the surfactant. The dispersed ink is separated from pulp fibers by such means as washing or flotation.
Conventional deinking processes have shown minimal success in dealing with dry toner electrostatic printing inks, with the necessary chemical and mechanical treatments of the furnish proving to be time consuming and often rendering a furnish which is unacceptable for many applications. The development of a deinking program for office waste contaminated with electrostatic printed copy will make this furnish more amenable to the recycling process.
The ability to recycle office waste will prove commercially advantageous and will have a significant impact on the conservation of virgin fiber resources. Although electrostatic printed waste has not reached the volume of impact printed waste commonly seen in the industry, indications are such that usage of electrostatic print is increasing steadily and that waste copies available to the recycling industry will also increase.
The present invention enhances the agglomeration and subsequent removal of electrostatic toner particles through centrifugal cleaners by using specific commercially available raw materials. It is believed that this can be accomplished at a wide range of pH levels (5.0 to 11.0) and will render a furnish that is virtually free of electrostatic printing ink after subsequent mechanical treatment. The invention allows for the separation of ink particles and associated binder from pulp fibers, and causes the particles to agglomerate to a critical range of size and density, which affords their most efficient removal from the pulp slurry by centrifugal cleaners.
The present invention demonstrates that specific surfactants with low HLBs enhance the agglomeration of electrostatic toner particles, allowing removal through centrifugal cleaning and/or screening. HLB is an abbreviation for hydrophile-lipophile balance as related to the oil and water solubility of a material. A high HLB indicates that the hydrophilic portion of the molecule is dominant, while a low HLB indicates that the hydrophobic portion of the molecule is dominant. The water solubility of materials increases with increasing HLB. Traditional deinking processes utilize a wide variety of high HLB (generally greater than 10) nonionic and/or anionic surfactants or dispersants to wet and disperse ink particles to a range of size (about 0.5 to 15 microns) which allows for their most efficient subsequent removal by washing and/or froth flotation processes.
Agglomeration is anticipated to be seen at pH levels ranging from 5.0 to 11.0, with no significant deposition of ink expected to be present on pulping equipment. The advantage of the present invention is that it allows for agglomeration at an ambient pH, alleviating the need for caustic or acid tanks in the mill environment.